Standard Archetype Breakdown

Bill Stark

It is the question on the minds of all at the dawn of a new Pro Tour: what decks will all the pros be playing? After hours of typing and research, your faithful web coverage team is proud to bring you the results.

In second place is Pro Tour-Hollywood standout Five-Color Control, formerly known as Quik 'N Toast. Banking on the powerful interaction between Reflecting Pool and the Vivid lands, the deck plays virtually any spell it wants. Cloudthresher fights alongside Cryptic Command fights alongside Cruel Ultimatum. Of course, the newly released Conflux has given the deck plenty of added oomph. Players have been seen using the anti-Faeries tech of Volcanic Fallout in their lists, as well as the under-rated Ethersworn Adjudicator.

Rounding out the top five are two aggro decks and an aggro control. Fifty Faeries players have brought the blue-black scourge, hoping to continue riding the back of Bitterblossom and Cryptic Command to steal a Pro Tour victory. Kithkin and the Black-Red Aggro decks will be nipping at their heels, looking to make sure that doesn't happen.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Pro Tour without innovators. A group of players have come to play with similar builds of a Standard Tezzerator list, featuring Esperzoa to gain added advantage a la Stampeding Wildebeests. Rafiq of the Many has been seeing play in some very aggressive Bant Aggro decks, and a good number of well respected Japanese players have shown up with new kid on the block Swans Control.

So which archetype will reign supreme? Tune in all weekend long for live coverage as it happens, here on magicthegathering.com!